Spicy Fruit Cake – European Style

Spicy Fruit Cake – European style – Boiled fruit cake which is quick and easy to make. Slice and butter it and everyone will be your friend. Freezes well.

Spicy Fruit cake – photo Theresa Sjoquist

This sophisticated fruit cake is delicious with or without butter and is a popular favourite with old and young alike for morning and afternoon tea. It is quite spicy, with a crisp top, and produces a wonderful aroma when baking. It also keeps well. If it needs to keep better than well, slice and freeze it and take out one slice at a time as you need it. If you want it to have the fresh baked texture, zap it for 10 seconds in the microwave but I think it’s unnecessary.

One of the best features of this cake, is that it takes so little time to prepare, although it takes half to three-quarters of an hour to bake in a moderate oven.

Spicy Fruit Cake – European Style

Ingredients

100gms Butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 Cup water

1 1/2 Cups sultanas

1/4 Teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)

1/3 Teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

1 Teaspoon mixed spice

1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon (optional)

***

2 Cups flour (exchange 3/4 cup for Wholemeal if liked)

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

2 Eggs (free range eggs are the nicest)

Spicy Fruit Cake – European Style – photo Theresa Sjoquist

Method

Put all the ingredients except the eggs, flour, baking powder and soda into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Once the mixture is boiling and the butter has all melted, take it off the heat and add the baking soda. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, sift the flour and baking powder together. If you are using self-raising flour, do not add baking powder as well. I like a heavier cake and so exchange roughly three quarters of a cup of white flour for wholemeal. I had run out of wholemeal so the photograph shows the cake made with white flour only.

Preheat the oven to 180.

Ideally your boiled mixture should be significantly cooled though not cold. Pour it into the flour and mix well. Then beat the eggs and add them to the mixture and mix everything very well.

Butter a cake tin and dust it with flour. This stops the cake sticking to the tin and you’ll easily be able to get it out later. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for approximately 40-45 minutes. I say approximately because depending on how thick your mixture is and how accurate your oven heat is, the cake can be ready earlier.

Signs that the cake is almost baked are that it cracks on the top and there are gaps around the edges. Test it with a skewer in the centre. If the skewer comes out clean, the cake is ready. Leave it in the baking tin for 10 minutes, then loosen the edges with a knife and turn the cake out onto a cooling tray.

Spicy Fruit Cake – European Style 1 – Photo Theresa Sjoquist

Serve Spicy Fruit Cake

If it is still warm, Spicy fruit cake can be a little crumbly. It’s better to wait until it’s cold, Slice about 1-1.5cm thick, spread with butter if liked, and serve with good coffee.